Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks and answers to media questions during talks with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
31 August 2022 19:51
1765-31-08-2022
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have held wide-ranging talks, during which we discussed bilateral cooperation matters and the international agenda in follow-up to top-level agreements.
I would like to note that the presidents of our countries maintain regular contacts. In January 2022, President of the Republic of Iran Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi visited Moscow and held talks with President Vladimir Putin. Apart from telephone conversations, the two leaders held two more meetings: on the sidelines of the Caspian Summit in Ashgabat on June 29, 2022 and in Tehran during the Astana Format summit on July 19, 2022.
We are satisfied with the way our bilateral relations are developing. They are being elevated to an entirely new level that will be formalised in a large-scale interstate treaty. We are now finalising this document that will have strategic long-term importance. It will set forth basic guidelines for expanding the entire range of Russian-Iranian ties in the coming decades.
We are also working on another document regarding long-term economic cooperation and a roadmap for its implementation. We are making use of our economic potential that is far from being depleted.
Bilateral trade is growing at a record pace despite illegitimate sanctions. In the first seven months of 2022, trade soared by over 40 percent, to reach about $2.7 billion. Most likely, we will surpass the record 2021 level ($4 billion) by the end of this year.
Members of the bilateral intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation are conducting practical work. They are to hold their regular meeting in Russia before the end of the year. Today, we have discussed all items of the meeting's agenda, with due account for the current environment for our economic operators and agencies.
We talked about concluding full-fledged agreements on a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union as soon as possible. An interim agreement on this issue remains in force since 2018. We are finalising an agreement on establishing a permanent free trade zone.
We also discussed the international situation in detail. Russia and Iran consistently advocate international law and reject the destructive line of the collective West aiming to impose a rules-based order on the international community, replacing universal norms of international law. This liberal international order has nothing in common with truly democratic values enshrined in the UN Charter, including the principle of states' sovereign equality. On the contrary, our two countries are defending the central role of this global organisation. Our positions coincide on all key aspects of UN activities. We have teamed up with our Iranian partners and other like-minded countries within the framework of the recently established Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter. The group already unites 20 countries, and its line-up is set to expand.
We have had a detailed discussion of all aspects linked with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to resolve the situation around the Iranian nuclear programme. Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed gratitude for our firm position that remains unaffected by time-serving considerations, as well as Russia's consistent efforts to resume a nuclear deal in full as soon as possible. At the same time, it is necessary to abolish all illegal anti-Iran sanctions. The international community is still expecting the United States to start acting within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 once again. We support the position being consistently upheld by Iran at what we hope are the final talks.
Russia is closely following the process of Iran joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as a full member. Principled decisions have been adopted on this issue. There are plans to sign a memorandum on Iran's obligations in compliance with the SCO procedures at the September 2022 SCO summit in Samarkand. This will become a practical and important step on the way to attaining full SCO membership.
We exchange views on the military, political, and humanitarian situation in Syria. We spoke highly of the outcome of the Astana Troika's summit held in Tehran on July 19. This effective mechanism is still of key importance in the context of Syria settlement. Today, we agreed to continue using it proactively to ensure close coordination aimed at maintaining peace and stability in Syria and to deal with the humanitarian problems which persist in that country because of the illegitimate, unprecedented Western sanctions undermining the UN Security Council resolutions.
By tradition, we touched base on other current regional matters, such as Middle East settlement, Palestinian problems, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, South Caucasus, and the Caspian Sea region.
We talked about the situation in Ukraine and around it. We gave our Iranian friends a detailed run-down on the Ukraine situation as it stands now and explained how it is developing. We thanked our colleagues for their invariably balanced attitude to this matter. Tehran perceives Russia's security concerns with understanding and regards them as absolutely legitimate. Tehran is also aware of the motives that have elicited our response to the destabilising policy pursued by the United States and its NATO allies.
We are satisfied with the talks and their results. We have arranged with Mr Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to continue a regular exchange of views on all matters of mutual interest. There are a number of agreements that have been coordinated today. They will be translated into concrete deeds, including the use of new mechanisms of our foreign policy coordination.
Question (retranslated from Farsi): This century is called the age of geoeconomics. Certain countries are using sanctions to bring pressure to bear on other nations. Iran has had 40 years' experience of sanctions. We've seen sanctions imposed on Russia over the last few months. The interests of nations have been taken hostage. How is it possible to emerge from this situation? Are there any changes in trade, the economy, and the energy sector?
Sergey Lavrov: We should draw conclusions from the global developments and prevent any single nation with a stake in its independent, upstanding and self-respecting development from finding itself in a situation where someone could try to take it hostage. For this, one specific thing is needed. I am referring to the need to understand that globalisation, which has been advertised during the last few decades and used as a basis for creating the international monetary and economic systems, has pursued just one aim: it is primarily supposed to ensure the US and its allies' interests. We can now state this directly.
The fact that this system is unreliable has been repeatedly proven over the past years. I am referring to the misuse of the US dollar and the manipulation of the WTO procedures that have ceased to suit the United States. All countries concerned with their own future should not just draw conclusions but also take practical steps to create a system of foreign economic ties independent of the diktat practiced by the United States and the entire collective West. We are active in doing this jointly with all our key, reliable partners, including Iran. The agenda of the upcoming regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation will be focused on this matter.
It is a priority for all self-respecting states to put paid to dependence on the West in areas of key importance for ensuring their national interests.
Energy collaboration with Iran is making headway. We have discussed funding, along with nuclear power and the Bushehr nuclear power plant project (work is in progress on the second and third nuclear reactors). The financial matters require a special focus. Oil and gas cooperation is advancing, with Russian companies making plans with their Iranian partners and starting to implement them.
Question: When can we expect the Russian Mir and Iranian Shetab systems to become fully integrated?
Sergey Lavrov: Our countries' central banks are engaged in detailed negotiations. They had contacts in July and agreed on a roadmap that would lead us to results. I am sure that this will happen quite soon.
Question: What are the specific differences between Iran and the United States on the JCPOA? Is the lifting of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps one of the stumbling blocks in this regard? When is a JCPOA restoration deal likely to be signed?
Sergey Lavrov: I will leave this question for my colleague to answer. Russia fully understands and supports Iran's position on an unconditional restoration of the JCPOA and the across-the-board lifting of the illegitimate US sanctions.
Question: What is Russia's stand on delays in the negotiating processes concerning the nuclear deal?
Sergey Lavrov: I have already addressed this topic. Our position on the "delays" in the negotiating processes was stated long ago. A year ago, our US colleagues attempted to accuse Russia of it being absolutely impossible to reach agreement on reviving the JCPOA. This turned out to be a bluff.
In his opening remarks today, Mr Hossein Amir-Abdollahian mentioned the fact that some European leaders urged him to focus on the Ukrainian issue and pass on certain messages to us. I hope these are not new preconditions that might be put forward in the path leading to the signing of the JCPOA. Russia has long done all that depended on it. We are fully satisfied with the current text of the agreement. We will look to our Iranian friends' position.
Question: How important is the de-blocking of the transport and economic ties in the South Caucasus from the point of view of implementing the North-South corridor project? Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan are paying close attention to it. Can we say that attaining these two goals in the future will help to create a mutually complementary transport network and that this will make it possible to establish closer relations in the region?
Sergey Lavrov: De-blocking the trade, economic, and transport ties in the South Caucasus is a matter handled by a trilateral group involving deputy prime ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. The group is working steadily, simultaneously holding meetings on border delimitation between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A regular meeting of the group took place a few days ago.
Created by the presidents' decision of November 9, 2020, the Trilateral Working Group has made much progress in reaching agreements. I hope they will be put in black and white shortly. What is particularly important is that this work is being pursued neither in the vacuum, nor in isolation. It is proceeding in close connection with larger transport projects, including the North-South corridor. Our Iranian partners are interested in it, too.
Today, we also discussed the continuing Russian-Iranian-Azerbaijani talks on restoring a short stretch on the Rasht-Astara railway. Contacts between specialists have been planned for September.
In practical terms, the process has made strides. Its region-wide importance is in establishing logistics chains that will be independent of countries that don't respect the interests of their partners in the region, be it Iran, the Russian Federation, or any other country. This is an addition protection from the negative influence of the globalisation model we have discussed today.
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